Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 2, no. 1, 2012, 53-88
ISSN: 1792-9040(print), 1792-9660 (online)
International Scientific Press, 2012
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
Nadhir Al-Ansari1, Sven Knutsson2 and Ammar A. Ali3
Abstract
The Iraqi marsh lands, which are known as the Garden of Eden, cover an area
about 15-20 103 km2 in the lower part of the Mesopotamian basin. The area had
played a prominent part in the history of mankind and was inhabited since the
dawn of civilization. The Iraqi government started to drain the marshes for
political and military reasons and at 2000 less than 10% of the marshes remained.
After 2003, the process of restoration and rehabilitation of Iraqi marshes started.
There are number of difficulties encountered in the process. In this research we
would like to explore the possibilities of restoring the Iraqi marshes. It is believed
that 70- 75% of the original areas of the marshes can be restored. This implies that
13km3 water should be available to achieve this goal keeping the water quality as
it is. To evaluate the water quality in the marshes, 154 samples were collected at
48 stations during summer, spring and winter. All the results indicate that the
water quality was bad. To improve the water quality, then 18.86 km3 of water is
required. This requires plenty of efforts and international cooperation to overcome
the existing obstacles.
1
2
3
Lulea University of Technology, e-mail: nadhir.alansari@ltu.se
Lulea University of Technology, e-mail: Sven.Knutsson@ltu.se
Lulea University of Technology, e-mail: ammar.ali@ltu.se
Article Info: Revised : February 24, 2012 . Published online : May 20, 2012
54
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
Keywords: River Tigris, River Euphrates, Garden of Eden
1 Introduction
The Iraqi marshlands, which are referred to as the Garden of Eden, are created by
the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers system in the lower part of the Mesopotamian
basin where the longitudinal slope is very weak (Euphrates about 4 cm/km and the
Tigris 8 cm/km) causing the two rivers to meander and split into many branches.
This has formed a series of lakes and marshes. During seasonal flood the water
overflows the plain and creates complexes of marshes. They cover an area about
15-20 103 km2 (Figures 1 and 2). The Arabs (Islamic Age) called the lakes and
marshes Al-Bataih, “the lands covered with torrents”. When they came to Iraq,
they dug canals and drainage systems in large areas and cultivated lands and
changed them into fields. The areas between Kufah, Wasit and Basrah were
well-populated. The marshes shrank and increased according to the intensity of the
floods of the two rivers throughout the centuries and according to the ability of the
rulers of Iraq to control the water of the rivers.
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
55
Figure1: Major Iraqi Marshlands
The marshlands stretch between double deltas. An inner one produced by
Hillah-Hindiyah on the Euphrates and Sghatt al-Gharaf on the Tigris and a marine
delta created by the Karun and Marunjerrahi river system [1]. Near the confluence
of the two rivers in Qurnah, the Mesopotamian plain is very narrow due to the
formation of conglomeritic alluvial fan of wadi Batin drawing the deposits from
Saudi Arabia in the west and the Karun-Karkheh river systems descending from
the Zagros mountains in Iran from the east [1]. These marshes are divided into
three major units: i/Hammar marshes, ii/Central (Qurnah) marshes and
iii/Hawizeh marshes (Figure 1). The water in the marshes lie over clayey soils and
water depths are 0.5–2.0 m in dry and wet seasons respectively, while it reaches
6.0 m depth in permanent lakes.
56
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
Figure 2: The Mesopotamian Marshes a. 1985 b. 2000 c.2002 d. 2004 [40].
The area was considered among the largest wetlands in the world and the greatest
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
57
in west Asia. It is considered one of the eleven non marine wetland areas in the
world with Endemic Bird Area status [2; 3]. It supports a diverse range of flora
and fauna and human population of more than 500 000 persons and is a major
stopping point for migratory birds.
The area was inhabited since the dawn of civilization by the Sumerians about
6000 years BP [4 and 5]. Huge number of sculptures and Figures are documented
since the Sumerians and Babylonian ages (Figure 3) [6]. Large number of the
present inhabitants, referred to as ‘Ma`dan’, are claimed to be descendants of
Sumerians. They have their own style of life which is linked with their aquatic
environment. Most of them are semi-nomadic and their settlements are located at
the edges of the marshes or on artificial islands and their houses are usually built
of reed and mud (Figure 4). Water–buffalos are very important for the Marsh
Arabs existence. For them water buffalos are like the importance of a camel for
the Bedouin [7]. The buffalos are fed on young reed shoots and they provide them
with milk, butter, yoghurt, as well as energy and crop fertilizer in the form of fuel
and manure. Fishing, hunting and growing rice is the other complimentary things
in the life of the marsh Arabs. The marsh dwellers were isolated till the 1970s.
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
58
Figure 3: Sumerian clay tablet 5,000 year old depicts an ancient reed house.
[9].b- ‘He (Merodach-Baladan, King of Babylon) fled like a bird to the
swampland’ and ‘I (Sennacherib, King of Assyria) sent my warriors into the midst
of the swamps … and they searched for five days’. But the King of Babylon could
not be found. (703 B.C.) [6]. c- Relief showing life in the marshlands in ancient
times. [9].
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
59
Figure.4: A typical marsh landscape. Villages are built on artificial floating islands
by enclosing a piece of swamp, and filling it in with reeds and mud. For flood
protection, more layers are added each year to strengthen it.
Reed (Pharagmites communis, Typha augustata) covers large areas of the marshes.
The vegetation in the mud flats is usually Carex and Juncus spp., Scripus
brachyceras. In the fresh water lakes the aquatic vegetation dominates like
hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), eel grass (Vallisneria sp.) and pondweed
(Potamogeton lucens spp.), as well as bottom vegetation such as stonewart (Chara
spp.). In the smaller lakes and back swamps, floating vegetation of waterlilies
(Nymphaea and Nuphar spp.), water soldier (Pistia stratiotes) and duckweed (Le
mna gibba) are common [3; 8].
The marshlands are very important for migrating birds where several millions of
birds reside in these marshes when they migrate [9]. More than 80 bird species
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
60
were used to be in the marshlands. Due to draining process several species of
animals and plants are extinct now while other species are threatened including for
example Grey Wolf, Mesopotamian Gerbil [1].
It had been estimated that 60% of the fish consumed in Iraq comes from the
marshes [10]. In addition oil reserves had been discovered in and near the
marshlands [11; 10].
The draining of the marshlands by Saddam regime in the 1990s brought
catastrophic effect on the marsh dwellers, animals and plants. Several initiatives
had been taken by the Iraqi Government and others [e.g. 10; 12; 13; 1] to restore
this area (Figure 5). It is believed that there are several factors effecting the
restoration of the marshlands which are to be discussed in this paper.
Figure 5: (a) Marsh Arab fishermen Al-Hawizeh marsh in 2003. (b) The totally
drained Central marsh 2003. Marsh soil (c) The remains of Al-Hammar marsh
2003 (d) Al-Sanaf, a seasonal marsh area. s (e) Abu Zarag in February 2004).
Reflooded in April 2003. (f) Suq Al-Shuyukh in February 2004. (44).
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
61
2 Evolution of the lower Mesopotamia
During the last glacial period about 18000 years BC the sea level was
about120-130 m below its present level. The Gulf at that period was dry and Shatt
al-Arab was flowing directly into the Gulf of Oman [14] (Figure 6). The Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers were cutting down to -26 m into the Mesopotamian plain
between Qurmat Ali and Qurna and lower than -30 meters at Fao. Probably there
were no marshes at that period when the ground water level was low. This period
was followed by the rise of sea level at 14000 years BP onwards. Evidence of
fresh water peat at Bubiyan island were reported by Gunatilaka [15] and Al-Zamel
[16] at -20m deposits which are 2800 years old and at that time the surface of
Shatt al Arab delta was 20 m below its present level. Sanlaville [14] suggests that
the sea level was raising relatively fast at the period 900 – 6000 BP and it was at
its maximum about 4000 years BC. At that period the sea level was 1 to 2 m above
its present level [17]. Marine faunas were discovered in various parts of
Mesopotamia. In Basrah and Amarah it was found at -2.7 and -8.5 m below soil
surface within the sediments of Hammar Formation [18; 19]. From carbon dating
it is clear that the Hammar Formation is of Holocene age [15] suggesting that the
postglacial transgression reached Amarah area (Figure 6). The area was aquatic
where the river bed was raised and the water table while the inner Gulf region was
brackish due to its shallow nature and fresh water contribution from the rivers.
Summarian cities like Ur and Eridu during the third millennium were located at
the coast of the Gulf [20; 21].
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
62
Figure 6: Postglacial transgression of the Gulf area (14).
Over the marine Hammar Formation, abundant river sediments were deposited in
the shallow northern region of the Gulf leading to the progression of the delta
toward the southeast (Figure 7). This prevented the sea water from entering too far
inland and for changing the nature of water from brackish lagoon to fresh water
type and resending the coast line toward the south [22]. Archeological sites were
discovered at the south of Haur al Hammar and east of Qurna-Basra during the
second and first millennium indicating the Gulf shoreline was further south. After
this period the rivers were running on the surface of the plain and the marshes
took their present configuration and zoning. The southern limit of the
Mesopotamian delta was very near its present limit during Hellenistic period and
the three rivers had their own estuaries while the sea level is believed to be about
one meter lower [14; 23 and 24 ].
Onward miner events took place where at the seventh century the Tigris
River followed the Gharaf bed into the Euphrates forming a very big marsh 370
km long and 90 km wide. At that time the marshes were much bigger than today
due to the shift of the Tigris River toward the west (14). Old investigations cited
the existence of such big marsh which includes Haur al-Hammar [25]. Due to the
large quantity of sediments carried by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Lees and
Falcon [26] believed that the area was under subsidence. In view of the
excavations and bore holes through Hammar Formation [e.g 27], it is believed that
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
63
the weight of accumulating sediments compressed the silt and clay. A similar
conclusion was cited by Sanlaville [14]. After the second half of the twentieth
century the constructions of dams in Turkey and Iraq controlled the floods of the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Consequently the marshes are no longer fed by their
floods. Furthermore salinity started to increase due to high evaporation rates.
Figure 7: Evolution of the Gulf level and of the Lower Mesopotamian shoreline
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
64
since the postglacial transgression (14).
3 Climate of the area
The climate of Iraq is continental and subtropical with hot dry summer and mild
wet winter.
The rainy season usually extends from October to May followed by dry season
from June to September. The annual rainfall map indicates that the average annual
precipitation increases slowly from south-west to north-east. October to May, have
a relatively low precipitation where the maximum precipitation takes place during
December, to March. The rainy days during the year are between 40 to 60 days
and the probability of intensive rainfall (1-10 mm) is only 25-27% [13]. The
average annual rainfall ranges from 42 to 185 mm. Within the marshland area, Al
Amarah, Al Basrah and Al Nasiriyah stations show an average annual
precipitation of 185.42, 152.4 and 109.22 mm respectively [28].
The air temperature within the area reaches more than 50oC during summer and
drops rarely below zero during winter. It can be noticed that the mean annual
temperature is ranging between 22.2 and 27.2oC. The absolute maximum and
minimum are 50 and -2.2oC respectively. June, July and August are the warmest
months (monthly average 34oC) while January, February and December are the
coldest months (monthly average 8.8oC). It should be mentioned however that
about 10 days a year the temperature is equal or below 0oC.
The area is considered as humid area where it reaches its maximum relative
humidity in winter (75%) and the minimum in summer (22%) with a mean value
of 42%.
The total annual radiation reaches 525 mW/hour where it reaches its maximum in
June and July and its minimum in December and January. Eight to nine hours is
the sunshine duration as an average during the day, this is equivalent to 72%. In
summer sunshine duration reaches 85% while in winter it does not exceed 70%.
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
65
The prevailing wind direction is northwesterly and westerly. During spring, a
south-westerly wind exists which is referred to as 'khansin'. This wind comes from
Saudi Arabia and usually brings sand storms. Mean annual wind velocities are
ranging from 3.6 to 5.7 m/sec with the highest mean monthly wind velocities
taking place in the period June to August.
Potential evapotranspiration (ETo) map shows that the rate is higher in the south
relative to the north. The average annual ETo is higher than 2000 mm. ETo
reaches its maximum values during May to September and its minimum during
January. During summer, 50% of ETo annual amount occurs while it is 22%
during spring and autumn and it reaches its minimum (6%) during winter.
The average annual days with fog is 27 days and the maximum number of fog
days occurs in December and January. As far as thunderstorms are concerned, its
mean annual number of days is 7 usually occurring during the period October to
May.
The average annual dust days are of the range 36-53 days and they usually occur
from April to August with the peak in June and July. The western parts suffer
more than other parts from the dust storms.
4 Hydrology
Iraq consists essentially of a flat, low-lying plain which rises gently to the
southwestern plateau reaching elevations of 940 m, and the northeast to the Zagros
Mountains, which rise to elevations up to 3000 m. Elevations most of the
Mesopotamian Plain (featureless plain) are vary from few meters below sea level
to about 400 meters above sea level. The widest portion of the plain is 200 km, but
it narrows towards Basrah to less than 45 km.
The lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers join at Qurnah to form the
Shatt Al-Arab, which flows into the Gulf below the town of Fao. In southern
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
66
Mesopotamia, both rivers separate in many sub-branches which disappear in a
large marshland formation once occupying more than 15 103 km2 (during the early
1970’s). Typical water depths within the marshes fluctuate between 0.5-3.5 meters
annually. The largest marshes are the Hammar, Huweizah and Qurnah (or Central)
Marshes (Figure 2).
Most of the data in this section are obtained from Iraqi Ministries, 2006a, b and c;
CRIM, 2008, 2009 a and b.
4.1 Al-Hammar Marsh
The Al-Hammar Marsh is situated south of the Euphrates, extending from near
Nasiriyah in the west to the outskirts of Basrah on Shatt Al-Arab in the east. To
the south it is bordered by saline lakes and sand dune belt of the Southern Desert.
During the 1970’s the marsh area covered approximately 2,8 103 km2 of
permanent marsh and lake, expanding to over 4,5 103 km2 during periods of
seasonal and temporary inundation. It was approximately 120 km long and 25 km
wide.
Maximum water depth in the marsh ranged from 1.8 to 3 meters.
During the summer, large parts of the shoreline normally dried out, and banks and
islands emerged.
Al Hammar Marsh was fed primarily by flooding and tributaries of the Euphrates
River. A considerable amount of water from the Tigris River, overflowing from
the Qurnah Marsh, also nourished the Al Hammar Marsh. Groundwater recharge
was another source of replenishment.
4.2 Qurnah Marshes
The Qurnah marshes are bounded by the Tigris River to the east and the Euphrates
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
67
River to the south, the area is roughly delimited by a triangle between Nasiriyah,
Qalat Saleh and Qurnah. During seventies of last century, the Qurnah Marshes
covered an area of about 3 103 km2. They receive water mainly from Tigris
distributaries branching southward from Amarah.
The marsh complex was densely covered with tall reed beds, interspersed with
several large depressions. Along the marsh’s northern fringes, dense networks of
distributaries deltas were the sites of extensive rice cultivation.
4.3 Huweizah (Central) Marsh
The Huweizah Marsh lies to the east of the Tigris River, straddling the Iran-Iraq
border. The Iranian section of the marshes is fed primarily by the Kharkeh River.
In Iraq, this marsh was largely fed by two main distributaries departing from the
Tigris River near Amarah, known as Al-Musharah and Al-Kahla. During spring
flooding, the Tigris would directly overflow into the marshes. It extends for about
80 km from north to south, and 30 km from east to west, the marshes covered an
approximate area of 2,35 103 km2. The northern and central parts of the marshes
were permanent, but towards the southern sections they became increasingly
seasonal in nature. The permanent marshes had moderately dense vegetation,
alternating with open stretches of water. Large permanent lakes up to six meters
deep were found in the northern parts of the marshes.
4.4 Hydrological conditions at 1990s
The primary source of water to the marshlands is flow from the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers, with the Kharkeh River supplying some water to the Huweizah
Marsh, and some supply from groundwater. The wetlands of Lower Mesopotamia
comprise shallow lakes and marshes covering a large area (Figure 2) which is
formed on two large, flat and active fan deltas which are fed by the floods and
water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and their distributaries. The floods of
68
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
these two major rivers are caused by the winter rain and spring snow melt in
Turkey and Iran. The area is poorly drained and have very low gradient of
Quaternary alluvial plain [29; 30].
During floods, the dry areas (or highlands) within the marshes are subjected to
inundation by the Tigris and Euphrates water and, if it was not for the presence of
rivers and levees, the entire region would be completely inundated by surface
water. Water from the Tigris feeds the Huweizah and Central marshes due to the
inadequate carrying capacity of its channel. The main Tigris channel reduces its
cross-sectional area as it approaches the marshes. At Kut, the carrying capacity of
the channel is as large as 6.000 m3/sec, while at Kalat Salih-Kassarah it decreases
to 65-70 m3/sec. Downstream of Kassarah the river is again augmented by lateral
inflow from the Huweizah marshes.
Before the 1970’s, there was a complex system of natural channels where the
Tigris and Euphrates formed interior deltas prior to reaching the marshes. This
natural system of distributaries has been altered over thousands of years into
agricultural canals. These include the Gharraf (design capacity of 500 m3/sec)
flowing into the marsh Abu Zirig, Butairah (600 m3/sec), Aridh (700 m3/sec),
Mujar Al-Kabir (210 m3/sec), flowing into the Qurna Marshes, and Mujarrah,
Chahala flowing into the marsh of Huweizah. The Tigris River waters, after
flowing through the Qurnah/central marshes, used to be occasionally overtopping
the low levees on the right side of the Euphrates during high floods and feed the
Hammar marshes. Now this is not possible as the upper reach of the Euphrates
River is constrained into higher embankments all the way from Nasiriyah to
Mdaineh. Still, eight secondary branches exist and are able to connect the Qurnah
marshes to the Euphrates under the Nassiryia-Chebaish-Qurnah road via a number
of bridges and culverts and breaches along the north embankment of the Euphrates
River. The estimated 100-year event discharge capacity of these openings is 420
m3/sec.
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
69
The Euphrates is divided into several arms downstream of Nasiriyah and flows
into the Hammar Marsh along several secondary channels, the largest of which are
Aglawin, Akaika (Qeqe), and Haffar. The total discharge capacity of these
secondary channels is 1.820 m3/sec.
The most important development which affected the marshes was the
establishment of modern controls of the water of the Tigris and the Euphrates.
This led to a decrease in the great floods that affected Iraq and consequently the
area of the marshes. In addition, the irrigation projects played an active role in
determining the courses of the Tigris and Euphrates and their branches, making
future changes improbable.
The discharge of the Euphrates measured downstream of Hindiya before 1990
averaged 597 m3/sec, and then afterward the discharge averaged 338 m3/sec. The
Tigris downstream of Kut had a mean discharge of 945 m3/sec before 1990; after
1990 the mean discharge was 368 m3/sec.
The Kharkeh River supplied approximately 5 106 m3to the Huweizah marsh prior
to 1990; at the present time, it supplies approximately 2 106 m3. This reduction is
due to the usage of water from the Kharkeh Dam built in 2002 [31].
The area of the marshes were highly influenced by the hydraulic structure build
during the 20th century, construction of major hydraulic works played an essential
role in controlling the floods. Al-Hindiya Barrage was inaugurated in 1913 on the
Euphrates River while Al-Kut Barrage was constructed in 1938, which directed
more water flow towards the Gharraf River to supply irrigation for field
agriculture, thereby decreasing the amount of water flowing from the Tigris into
the Qurnah (Central) and Huweizah marshes. In the 1970s the Syrian built dams
on the Euphrates River followed by Turkey in the 1990s when they started the
GAP project [32]. The post-1990 flow through the Euphrates is approximately half
of what had been, while in the Tigris flows have decreased to almost a third of the
discharge before 1990. This entire project reduced the quantity of water flowing to
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
70
the marshes. In addition many oil fields have been discovered within and near the
marshes. The exploration of oil leads to drying parts of the marshes. More than
1000 km2 of area represents the major oilfields in southern of Iraq, and this
number will most likely increase in future. The largest oilfields in the marshlands
area are:
1.
South Rumayllah in the Al Hammar Marsh. This is a super-giant oilfield in
production since 1953. The northern portion of the oilfield extends into the
marshlands. Approximately 300 km2 of marshlands have been drained to
accommodate its production footprint.
2.
North Rumayllah in the Hammar Marsh. North Rumayllah was discovered
shortly after the main Rumayllah field in 1954, but did not go online until 1972.
Approximately 200 km2 of marshlands were drained to accommodate its
production footprint.
3.
Zubayr field within the southeastern most Hammar Marsh. This oilfield has
been producing since 1949; approximately 100 km2 of marshland was drained to
allow for production facilities.
4.
West Qurnah in the Hammar and Qurnah Marshes. This is essentially the
northern extension of the Rumayllah oilfields and represents a separate super-giant
oilfield. The field was initially developed in the late 1980s. Only the portion
within Hammar Marsh is under production, for which an area of about 150 km2 of
marshlands was drained.
5.Majnoon Field within the Huweizah Marsh. This is a super-giant oilfield
discovered in 1977. Approximately 300 km2 of marshlands were drained to
accommodate the footprint of its production facilities.
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
71
5 Draining the marshlands
During the last two decades, hydrological programs such as previous Iraqi
government drying program and Turkish dam’s construction in the headwaters of
the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have nearly destroyed these once-rich freshwater
wetlands.
Remotely sensed image analysis of the area indicates that 63% of the marshes
diminished in 1992 when it is compared to the year 1985 (33). Tables 1, 2, 3
shows that the al-Hammar and Qurnah marshes almost completely desiccated as
well as the presence of evaporate deposits on their major water bodies (33).
Table 1: Land cover classification and change in the Hammar Marsh area
1977-2000 [33].
Land cover Category
1977(km2)
1985(km2)
2000(km2)
Permanent Marsh
1,632
2,347
60
Seasonal Marsh/Agriculture
286
339
210
Open Water
1,933
694
112
Total Wetland
3,565
3,041
172
Table 2: Land cover classification and change in the Qurnah Marsh area
1977-2000 [33].
Land cover Category
1977(km2)
1985(km2)
2000(km2)
Permanent Marsh
2,765
3,244
82
Seasonal Marsh/Agriculture
380
190
689
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
72
Open Water
646
203
66
Total Permanent Wetland
3,411
3,447
148
Table 3: Land cover classification and change in the Hawizeh Marsh area
1977-2000 (33).
Land cover Category
1977( km2) 1985( km2) 2000( km2)
Permanent Marsh
2,408
2,496
973
Seasonal Marsh/Agriculture
286
224
507
Open Water
785
766
173
Total Permanent Wetland
3,193
3,262
1,146
Serious attempts to dry the marshes started at the outbreak of Iraq-Iran war in
1980s when Iranian troops advanced inside Iraq [34]. Saddam regime began to
drain the marsh lands so that troops can be moved into that area and use the water
to block the advances of the Iranian troops [35; 12; 11] and perhaps to get rid of
the marsh dwellers [36]. Local dwellers were also taken to the war front. Details
of the engineering structures that were constructed to drain the marshes are
discussed in details by CRIM [37].
It should be mentioned however that the area was highly contaminated by army
munitions and poison gas [34; 38; 39]. Some people think that this was deliberate
so that the area will not be possible to live in again [40].
USA encouraged the Kurds in the northern part of Iraq and the marsh dwellers to
rebel against Saddam regime in 1991 during second Gulf war [40] and the result
was that the Iraqi army crushed the marsh dwellers. During the first Gulf war
some army deserters used to hide in the marsh areas and after the 1991 rebellion,
some of the rebels took refuge in the marshes. Due to these factors the Iraqi
regime sieges the area and movements in and out of the area were forbidden. To
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
73
enable the army to move inside the marshes, the central government started to
execute five major drainage projects to prevent water from the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers from reaching the marches. Later, the army launched a major
attack against marsh dwellers using artillery, mortar and ground attacks [41; 42].
This led to a mass exodus of marsh dwellers. Burning and bulldozing villages,
confiscating land, forcibly removing inhabitants, taking hostages was a daily
practice of the army in the marsh area. Water supplies were poisoned [43].Two
third of the marshes were not receiving water inputs in 1993 and at 2000 less than
10% remained [44]. The marsh lands were destroyed and some local dwellers
turned to farming in order to survive.
Coast [45] stated that 500 000 marsh dwellers remained in the marsh lands at the
end of the first Gulf war. A migration to Iran started in 1990 and 120 000 marsh
dwellers left. In 1997, 192 000 marsh dwellers were still living in southern Iraq
and 200 000 remained in all Iraq [45]. After the fall of Saddam regime in 2003,
people living near the marshes started to break down the diversions structures to
let water entering the marsh lands again [44]. After that the Iraqi Government and
the International community are trying to restore the marsh lands.
Since 2003, there was an increase in wetland area and vegetation by about 58%
[46] and in 2008 the marsh land covered 4.950 km2 and it was then reduced to 3
420 km2 in April 2009 and to 2 313 km2 in July 2009 [40;44]. The reduction was
due to water shortages.
UNOHCI [47] estimate that only 10% of the marsh dwellers are living in the
marsh lands today and it is believed that others living inside Iraq might return
back to the marshes also [48; 49; 50].
The marshlands are well known for their biodiversity and cultural richness.
Millions of birds migrating to Africa from Siberia and vice versa were using the
marshlands in their journey [2,51]. Rare species such as marbled teal
(Marmaronetta angustirostris; 40% to 60% of the world population) and the
74
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
Basrah reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis; more than 90% of the world
population), were assumed to be close to extinction [51], but have recently been
seen in a winter bird survey [52]. Furthermore, costal fish in the Gulf area used the
marshlands for spawning migrations and the area was used also as nursery
grounds for penaeid shrimp (Metapenaeus affinis) and numerous marine species
[44].
The pollutants of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were used to be filtered in the
area before reaching the Gulf while the Gulf area near Kuwait has now been
degraded [2, 53, 35].
6 Present conditions of the marshes and its restoration and
rehabilitation
After the fall of Saddam regime in 2003 the local people removed some of the
embankments on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to allow the water to inundate
the marsh area. After that the Iraqi government, with the help of US, Japan,
Canada, Italy, Denmark and some UN organizations (e.g. UNEP and UNDP) are
trying to restore the marsh land. It should be mentioned that these enforced land
use changes, climatic variations and changes as well as ecological fragmentation
were all caused by draining the marshes. Accordingly, many species were affected
as well as the marsh dwellers again. The rate of restoration reached 800 km2/year
[44; 54] while UNEP [1] stated that the expansion rate is 900 km2/year.
UNEP [1] stated that the wetland and marshes expanded 10% of its 1970s size in
January 2003 and to 41% in December 2005 and both Al Hammar and Al
Haweiza cover 50% of their original size. The marsh surface area reached 3000
km2 in 2005 and the variation of the surface water body between summer and
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
75
winter-spring was 700 to 2000 km2 [1]. The drought in 2009 and the reduced flow
from Iran caused the size of the marshes to shrink to the same area as it occupied
in 2003. It should be emphasized that the water quality of large part of the marshes
is of low quality [55]. CIMI [54] reported that the percentage of healthy marshes
in Basrah, Maysan and Thi Qar Governorates are 42%, 47% and 21% respectively.
From the data collected after 2003, it seems that it is impossible to restore the
marsh lands as they were before the 1980s. This is due to the saline soil, poor
water quality and pollution from military leftover. Parts of the marshlands are still
in use as agricultural areas and the owners or the local authorities are reluctant to
leave them due to the high agricultural production from these areas.
In addition,
oil activities took about 30% of the marsh land. Using the data provided from the
Ministry of Water Resources (especially CRIM), it is evident that if 75% of the
original areas of the marshes are restored i.e. 1800, 1800 and 2425 km2 for Al
Hammar, Al Hawiza and Central marshes respectively. This implies that the
quantity of water required is 3263, 5495 and 4128 106 m3 for the three marshes
(Table 4).
To evaluate the water quality within the three main marshes, 11(Huweizah marsh),
17 (Al-Hammar Marsh) and 20 (Central marsh) locations were selected (Figure 8).
As far as Huweizah marsh, seven locations were from the feeders of the marsh
while two were inside the marsh and the last two from the outlets for the marsh.
Samples were collected during three seasons from these locations (spring, summer
and winter) in 2008 and analyzed at the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resource [56]. It
should be mentioned however, that in some locations no samples were collected
during summer and winter because the area was dry. The following equation was
used to find out the water quality index (WQI):
 n

WQI   n f (ci )  *100
 1

(1)
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
76
Where:
n: is the number of considered water quality parameters.
c: is the concentration or value of the water quality parameter number i.
f (ci): is the weight factor which is function of the concentration or value of the
water quality parameter.
The water quality index for the fish and aquatic life consideration consists of the
following water quality parameters; pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific
conductivity, total dissolved solid, chloride, Khalid [57].
According to the equation the ranking values are given in table 5. The results
(Figures 9, 10 and 11) showed that the overall WQI of the marshes water were
fluctuating at each marsh during the three seasons, and the best season relatively
was spring then winter while summer was the worst.
Table 4: The volume of water required to restore the Iraqi marshes.
Marsh Name
Huweizah
Hammar
Qurnah
Total available
area km2
Percentage of
restorated area
(2008) %
Percentage of
goal area %
Water
Required
MCM
1800
44
75
5495
1800
23
75
3263
2425
25
75
4128
Huweizah Marsh was relatively the best in its WQI relative to the other two
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
77
marshes (Figure 9). For the same season, the water quality inside the Huweizah
marsh was worse than the quality of most of the feeders. This is believed to be due
to high evaporation and evapotranspiration rates.
The WQI of Al-Hammar Marsh was very bad according to the WOI scale
whole seasons and was bad for its
for the
feeders of the marsh are ranged from bad (in
three stations on the feeders in spring season) to very bad for most of the locations
as shown in (Figure 10). The exceptional station was MH22 where it supplied
water from River Tigris directly. The other locations and the marsh itself are
highly influenced by the Gulf water entering the marsh and its feeders during
tides.
78
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
Figure (8): Locations of measuring stations for water quality parameters for (a)
Huweizah marsh, (b) Qurnah marshes and (c) Hammar marsh
The WQI of Qurnah marshes was very bad for the whole seasons while most of its
feeders (especially from the north) had better water quality and are ranged from
medium during spring and winter for the most feeders (except one good value in
spring for one of them) to very bad during summer as shown in (Figure 11).
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
79
Figure 9: Water quality index values for Huweizah marsh during three seasons in
2008.
Figure 10: Water quality index values for Hammar marsh during three seasons in
2008.
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
80
Figure 11: Water quality index values for Qurnah marshes during three seasons in
2008.
In case the water quality in the marshes is to be improved then the water
requirements are much more (Table 5).
Table 5: Ranking values of Water Quality Index
WQI value
Quality Rank
0 – 25
Very bad
25.1 – 50
Bad
50.1 – 70
Medium
70.1 – 90
Good
90.1 – 100
Excellent
The Restoration and rehabilitation of the remainder part of the marshes requires
multi- disciplinary work and actions. From our point of view the most important
steps are the following:
•
Open up a dialogue with riparian countries (Turkey, Syria and Iran). This is
due to that fact that these countries are controlling the flow of the Euphrates and
Tigris Rivers and their tributaries. The flow in the rivers inside Iraq has been
tremendously reduced due to the hydraulic structure like dams, and dykes built in
the rivers. The effect of the Turkish project GAP and the Syrian dams are
discussed by several authors [e.g. 11, 32]. Recently however, the Iranians had
dammed many of the rivers contributing to Al Huwiza marsh. It should be
mentioned however that 7,68 106 m3/year is required to overcome evaporation in
the area.
Al-Ansari, Knutsson and Ali
•
81
The marshes should be considered as national protected areas similar to Al
Haiza which has been designated as a Ramsar site [58].
•
Provide essential services to the marsh dwellers and introduce public
awareness programs for them and the public about water resources conservation.
•
Drainage water must be prevented from entering the marshes. This affects the
water quality tremendously.
•
Maintenance of the water distribution systems in order to reduce the high
loses.
•
Irrigation practices should be modernized and suitable techniques should be
used. Iraq consumes 85% of its water resources for agriculture [59] and use of
suitable irrigation techniques will spare huge amount of water. Water harvesting
techniques and non-conventional irrigation techniques can serve as an extra water
resource.
6 Conclusions
The Iraqi marshlands, which are referred to as the Garden of Eden, are created by
the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers system in the lower part of the Mesopotamian
basin where the longitudinal slope is very gentle causing the two rivers to meander
and split into many branches. This has formed a series of lakes and marshes.
During seasonal flood the water overflows the plain and creates complexes of
marshes. They cover an area about 15-20 103 km2.
The main marshes are
Huweizah, Al-Hammar and Qurnah Marshes Serious measures were taken to drain
the marshes in early 1990s and then restoration of the marshes started in 2003.
It is believed that 75% of the area covered by the marshes can be restored. This
can be achieved if 3263, 5495 and 4128 106 m3 of water is supplied for the three
marshes.
Restoring the Garden of Eden, Iraq
82
The present water quality of the marshes is bad. To improve the quality more
water had to be supplied for the three marshes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to express their thanks to Baghdad University for
sponsoring the first author with a grant. The research presented was carried out as
a part of "Swedish Hydropower Centre - SVC". SVC has been established by the
Swedish Energy Agency, Elforsk and Svenska Kraftnät together with Luleå
University of Technology, The Royal Institute of Technology, Chalmers
University of Technology and Uppsala University. www.svc.nu
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